Being a die hard Broncos fan writing this blog will be a little tough this evening. Having a weird connection with a New England Patriots tight end is never something I want to do as a diabetic. I hate when my blood sugar spikes, I often take to much insulin when I see it rising so I end up very low an hour or so later. I'm not sure what may have caused my spike this morning but I will say that I will not be having cereal for breakfast tomorrow when I wake up.

For the non football readers, Rob Gronkowski is the tight end for the New England Patriots and after each touchdown he scores he will spike the football. Last season "Gronk" scored 17 touchdowns and after every single one he spiked the football. This morning while my blood sugar spiked all I could think of was "Gronk" laughing and spiking my pump. Odd I know but I believe I created a new term, Gronking-when ones blood sugar spikes for an unknown reason.

After a day of higher then usual blood sugars I was feeling angry and fat. It is weird how one bad day brings me down so quickly, my perfect blood sugar day feels like it was a mistake. After a great home cooked dinner with my wife I decided that I needed to go for a run so I didn't feel like I wasted the day. Before dinner I made sure to cut back the amount of insulin that I took, I would have normally taken 4.1 because of the run I took 1.8.

My run started off very well, I was singing a new song from the new Killers album and reflecting on the great day that I had yesterday. I was in my zone, I ran my first mile in 7:03 with a big smile on my face. The run was making me feel better just as I hoped, as I hit the two mile mark at 14:54 I was feeling "off". I quickly reached for the Level pouch in my pocket in hopes of cutting of the low before it got to bad. I kept running however, I was just about a half mile from home and wanted to finish strong. A quarter of a mile later I called it quits, I knew I was low and needed to walk the rest of the way. I took another Level and walked. When I arrived home I was 51, being low should have never happened. I should have ran earlier or not taken any insulin with my dinner. I will chalk this one up to being dumb, I know better. Tomorrow is a new day.

For the past two years I have seriously thought about getting a medical tattoo. I worry that a tattoo may not always be the first thing the ems looks for. I have thrown the idea out on Facebook a few times and I always get encouragement from friends on the idea.

This evening I found a link to WCVB out of Boston, they have a very interesting video and article on the medical alert tattoos. To see the article CLICK HERE

As we all know when it comes to my blood sugars I strive for perfection. When I have my sensor on my alarm is set to go off if my blood sugar goes above 139. I know that having my alarm set that low makes it near impossible to have a "perfect" 24 hours. I have been told by doctors that having my alarm setting that low that I'm setting myself up to fail. That trying to be perfect is good but in the long run it will lead to me stressing myself out and possibly not caring again. My response to them comes from the movie Prefontaine, "Let me tell you something, all of my life people have said to me, "You're too small, Pre. You're not fast enough, Pre. Give up your foolish dreams, Steve!" But you know what, they forgot something: I have to win." I can change that quote to fit my life and diabetes battle perfectly, "Let me tell you something, people have told me I'm not supposed to be alive, "your going to drive yourself crazy trying to be perfect." After what I have been through I need to prove to myself that I can beat the odds, tell me I can't do something and watch what happens."

The past few months I have been chasing a dream and have come very close to realizing it only to have it snatched from my hands. Going 24 hours with out a blood sugar over 139 has shown me that although people say something can't happen if you want it bad enough you will find a way.

For those of you that don't know how weird I really am you will get a good idea by reading the next couple paragraphs. Yesterday I found out that I would be doing a whole lot of walking today while at work. This morning I thought that it would be a good idea to bring my Garmin that I usually use while cycling or running with me to work. My thought was I could find out how far I really walk and how many calories I burn.

I started the day as I always by mowing four greens. On average each green is about 7,500 square feet. It takes around an hour and half and often times causes my blood sugar to be around 70 when I finish. This morning I was at 103 when I started which I was a little worried about, I thought for sure I would be low by the time I got to my third green. I brought along two juice boxes and a granola bar to help if I got low at any point. When I finished around 9am the food and juice was gone and my blood sugar was at 120, I was off to a good start I won the mowing greens battle. I was very surprised to see that I had walked close to four miles however, I would have never guessed I walked over two miles.

The rest of the day I would be walking the golf course with my favorite mower, I could listen to my music and enjoy a nice peaceful walk on a beautiful fall day. I only took .6 units to cover my break time snack knowing that I would be walking the rest of the day. I should have taken a bit more because an hour in to my walk I was up to 201, not bad but not what I had planned. I quickly took another half unit of insulin and continued walking. When I stopped for lunch I was down to 79, I took 1.6 units at lunch and went back out to mow. When I finished my blood sugar was at 59, I quickly grabbed some juice and crackers and kept the mechanic company. (That really means that the mechanic made sure I was ok before going back to work)

My stat line, almost eleven miles walked and I had burned almost 1,400 calories. That means at 3pm that I was at -200 calories for the day, after learning that I decided that an hour bike ride would have to wait until tomorrow. If I had ridden I would have been at -900 calories when I went to bed. I now know why my body was so beat up all summer long. I need to learn how to eat close to 4,000 health calories from April until November.

Yesterday Leanne and I headed to the Life is Good Festival held just outside of Boston. My wife is a huge Life is Good fan and I'm happy to report that the festival was all we thought it would be and a little bit more. Diabetes wise it was a good day, anytime Leanne and I do something that she is excited about I put a little extra pressure on myself to keep my blood sugars perfect. I want her to enjoy herself and not have to worry about me and my diabetes. I wanted her to have fun at the Dave Matthews concert and not have to worry if I needed food or anything. I know that she will never stop worrying about me but if I can have "normal" blood sugars we can enjoy the day.

Having the sensor on the last couple of days was a huge help. I decided to run to work yesterday, a nice 3.5 mile run would start my day off right, I awoke with a blood sugar of 226. A bit high but just what I wanted before going for a run, the run went great. My body felt strong, I actually wish I could have gone a little further. A Gatorade and a sleeve of peanut butter crackers helped my blood sugar so I wouldn't be low while at work. When I left work around 9 I was at 120, I could ask for a better blood sugar before heading up to Boston.

Other then a quick low when we arrived at the festival I was happy with how I handled the day. It had some random physical activities like a potato sack race but also had random free health snacks to balance everything. As 6pm approached I could tell I needed dinner, luckily our little group was hungry as well. Now the real fun started, what do I eat for dinner. I was craving a corn dog, but opted for the veggie burger. I know the carbs for a hamburger bun, I don't know the carbs for a corn dog. Plus after my run why would I want to cancel it out with garbage. I was able to take my 2.3 units of insulin and enjoy the rest of the night. I'm happy with how well I was able to control my blood sugar. It is not always that simple but I'm happy everything went smoothly.

As I wrote about earlier this week Novo Nordisk put on a Changing Diabetes Day at the DCU Center in Worcester. From start to finish the event was great, my wife and I met a lot of new people and were able to see a few people that we had at met at various diabetes events around New England.

What really made my day was listening to Dr. David Harlan of UMass Memorial speak. Five minutes in to his presentation I had chills, Dr. Harlans life is finding a cure for diabetes. From listening to him speak I learned a lot about the history of diabetes and also why it is so hard to find a cure for the disease. Dr. Harlan is a very smart man who works tirelessly to make life better for people living with diabetes. After listening to him speak I would do anything Dr Harlan asked, he is the Vince Lombardi of diabetes research. He knows what he wants and will do all of the work necessary to get the results he desires. It was a moving presentation and I wish more people were able to attend the presentation.

Events like the one I attended are taking place all over the world, I encourage everyone to try to attend some kind of diabetes event in the next month. You will come out of the event with a new understanding of diabetes. You do not have to be living with diabetes to attend, diabetics need everyones help. Someone in your life is affected by diabetes in someway, going to a diabetes event will help you to care for a person living with diabetes. As diabetics we can not win the fight against diabetes alone, we need your help. It doesn't have to be on a grand scale, it can be as simple as asking a person living with diabetes what his or her blood sugar was. Believe me as a person living with diabetes when someone asks what my blood sugar was or is it lets me know that they care and want to help in someway.

Yesterday while I was at my primary care doctor I received my yearly flu shot. Until last year the last time I got a flu shot was when I was 18, I never got sick so back then my thought was why should I get a flu shot when I don't get sick. Being sick is never fun, when your sick and have diabetes it is ten times worse. With my wife being a teacher I have gotten some pretty good colds over the past six years, I now try everything I can to not catch any school born cold from her.

Today I had a routine day at work but my blood sugars were running low all day long. I was running in the low 70s all day and only took 1.9 units to cover my 47 carb lunch. Usually a 47 carb lunch calls for around three units, knowing that I had been low I didn't want to be dangerously low a couple hours after lunch. I had no luck however, at 2pm I was down to 64 and had done nothing physical since eating my lunch. So why have I been low all day? It is one of two things, it could be a random day where I'm making insulin or my flu shot is having some kind of affect on my insulin.I did a bit of research but found nothing but articles on how important flu shots are for diabetics. I would love to hear from others if they have had similar experiences after receiving a flu shot. I'm happy to have the blog so I can go back next year to see how my body reacted.

Sometimes my blood sugar does some crazy things, today was one of those days. One benefit of working at a golf course is that we get to leave early when we have tournaments. Today was one of those days, I was able to leave around noon. I was able to eat lunch, get school work done, and clean the house. Around 2pm I was just finishing up my school work and felt "off" I tested and was at 140. I thought nothing of it and went back to doing some reading. Twenty minutes later I felt low, I headed downstairs to test and was 85. In twenty minutes my blood sugar dropped by 55 points. How and why this happened I don't know, it is one of the great diabetes mysteries. However it makes me want to put the sensor back on. My sensor breaks usually last one to three days, this one lasted about twelve hours.

Before my life changed I used to like to run, after my surgery running was very tough and I got on to the bike and we all know how that has worked out. This summer I was being told that I need to do something other then ride a bike, I was told how cross training would do nothing but help me on the bike. I was hesitant to start running because of my shoulder but decided to give it another try.

For the last couple of weeks I have been getting up around 5:30 to go for a quick run because I wouldn't have time later in the day to get on the bike. I had nothing telling me how I was running, I would just run for a while and see how it goes. I was very surprised at how well I felt while I ran, all of the cycling has made me a better runner. Today I finally decided to download an app to track my runs. When I last tracked my runs I would run one to four miles at a 8:30 mile pace. Today I kept my calm and did my normal run, as I started I could tell I had a little extra giddy up knowing I was being tracked by an app. Six minutes in I hear from the app, "You have completed one mile in 5:56" I almost stopped, I have never run a mile under seven minutes before. Now I'm sub six, how did that happen?? My second mile cam in at 6:37 still I couldn't believe it, I felt great. I honestly didn't know how much cycling had changed my physical fitness. I feel great and diabetes wise everything is better due to the bike. It is a crazy connection!!

This Saturday, September 22nd Novo Nordisk is hosting a Changing Diabetes Day at the DCU Center in Worcester Massachusetts from 10am until 2pm. The day will consist of educational vendor displays, informative workshops, and a fun filled kids activity area. The event is open to the community for those living with diabetes and those who are interested in healthy living and active lifestyles. I strongly encourage anyone that is in the area to stop by, it is sure to a great event and you never know who you will meet.

Just before my lunch break at noon my blood sugar was at 75. Usually I have an idea of what I will do after lunch and if I don't I will ask my boss. It always helps to know what kind of work I will be doing so I can determine how much insulin I will need to cover my lunch. My morning involved very little physical activity and I figured the afternoon would be the same, without knowing what I would be doing I took 3.4 units of insulin and enjoyed my lunch.

At 12:30 I found out that I would be taking my favorite machine and walking all over the course. I wish my pump had a panic button for times like this. I think the panic showed in my face because I was asked if I would be able to run the machine. I quickly smiled and said "of course why wouldn't I be able too?" I quickly grabbed two 16oz bottles of orange juice a bunch of glucose tabs and went on my way. After the first hill I mowed my blood sugar was down to 65, I quickly pounded an orange juice and then waited a few minutes before proceeding on my adventure. As I was walking a coworker passed me on a cart and I gave him my other juice to put towards the end of my walk. The glucose tabs could carry me for the next hour. I was lucky that I guessed correctly, my blood sugar stayed around 70 as I got to the last hole that I needed to mow. I pounded the juice and went on to kick the hills butt as you can see in the photo below.

I would arrive back at the barn around 3pm and quickly tested, my blood sugar was at 93, somehow everything worked and I had no problems. I learned a very valuable lesson however, it never hurts to ask. Never assume you know what will happen next.

We all have our good days and our bad days, we also have moments when we don't want to deal with anyone at all. When my blood sugar gets below 70 I often turn in to a very mean person. Of course my diabetes doesn't care what I'm doing or where I'm at, if I'm low the mean side comes out. Luckily I have an amazing wife that can recognize my symptoms and tells when I need some juice or to test. Of course when I hear from someone else that my blood sugar is low or high I instantly get on the defensive and tell them that I'm the one with the disease and I know what I'm doing. I will often then test and find out that my wife was right I do need to eat.

As diabetics we often forget that sometimes the people close to us know what is best for us as diabetics. We have to remember that they love us and want what is best, they ask questions because they care and they want to help.

While at the doctor yesterday I asked for a blood glucose machine for work. My old machine is all beat up and I was in desperate need of a new one, I was very happy when I received a One Touch Verio IQ. I have seen a number of positive reviews online and was anxious to get one. With the machine I got a prescription for new strips, the IQ does not work with the strips that my old machine used. I believe Apple and One Touch had a talk about how to change things that work just fine. Anyway, I didn't foresee any problem, I would go fill the prescription and use the machine at work.

When I got to the pharmacy the real fun started. I test anywhere from 4-12 times a day, a doctor will never tell a diabetic not to test so why not test whenever I feel off. My prescription was for 100 strips for my new machine, I was told by the pharmacist that the insurance would not cover them because I have a 200 strip limit. I was quickly very angry, I have the great ability to hide my anger however. It is not the pharmacys fault so why would I yell at them. Instead I get to share my anger on my blog.

I'm angry because for ten years I didn't fill one test strip prescription and the insurance, pharmacy, primary care doctor all didn't say a single thing about it. But now because I test so much I'm given a limit on how many test strips I can have? It doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever, how is this possible? It is things like this that drive me to get better care for diabetics. I know I'm lucky to even get test strips, I know how bad things could be. I don't know how to fix these problems but I promise that I am trying to get diabetics the attention that they deserve.

As I said yesterday I love to go to the doctor. I am now taking care of myself and I'm no longer afraid of what he or she may say. I know what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. it is not the doctors fault that I have a high blood sugar, and once we realize we are in control the doctor can be our best friend. Three months ago my A1C was at 6.7, respectable but that number in my eyes was horrible. I knew I could do better and knew that I wasn't being in control the way I should. After that appointment and that 6.7 I swore to go back to counting carbs and taking insulin by my carb count and not just guesstimating. It paid off, my A1C came in at 6.3 today!!! For a moment I was very happy and then that competitive side kicked in. I said to myself 6.3 is good but I'm so close to my ultimate goal of 5.9. I want to see 5.9 and I won't be truly happy until I do. Again 6.3 is good, I will celebrate that number tonight with a beer and watching the Bears vs Packers with my wife and friends, but after that it is right back to work and getting to that magic 5.9!!!

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my favorite nurse practitioner. For some reason I'm always nervous the night before, but the A1C result I get tomorrow is from the past three months not a 24hr period. I believe my blood sugars have been really good the past three months and I'm looking to see a number below 6.5. Tonight I figured I would share all of the information that I will be sharing with the nurse tomorrow. This will give everyone a chance to see just where my blood sugars are at given times and also how the continuous glucose monitor results look when grouped together. Enjoy the information and feel free to ask or comment on any photos.

Today was a good day to tour the golf course by foot with my favorite machine. It was a cool crisp late summer day so walking for six hours wouldn't be to taxing on the body. Blood sugar wise I was at 130 when I started just after 7am, as I got started I began to feel a bit off. I felt like I was dehydrated which feels a lot like being low. I saw that I was at 140 and falling, I had some Gatorade and crackers and went on my way. At break around 9am I still felt off, when I tested I was at 246, my pump read 90. I quickly took a unit of insulin and had my break. An hour later I would be back in the break room with a sugar of 41. This 41 was not a normal 41, usually I'm a functioning low diabetic. That was not the case today, I was feeling this low. I went in to the office to have a soda and some crackers and according to my bosses I was acting like I was very drunk. Five minutes later I was up to 81 and feeling a lot better. This trend of being low (never lower than 65 after the 41) continued all day long. No matter what I did I just couldn't keep my blood sugar above 100, my pump also wanted me to keep thinking I was higher than that. Once I arrived home everything started to get back to normal. After days like this I really want a job where I'm not running around all day, I love it but it takes its toll on my body and the people in my life. The battle won't stop with a new job however, I will still have highs and lows. All I can do is make minor changes to try and combat the blood sugar roller coaster.

For tonights blog I borrow a link from the Team Type 1 website. Click here to go to the Team Type 1 website to read this article.

How Riding With Team Type 1 Helped Me Stay In The Army filed under Tips for Diabetics.From Elite Team member Jason Cyr A little over a year ago, while on deployment in Africa with the U.S. Army, I began to feel sick. I lost around 20lbs and felt lethargic. I thought the reason I was feeling so bad could be the fact that I was living in a less-developed country, at about 8,000ft altitude, and eating strange foods. But instead of feeling better, I just kept getting worse. As a former paramedic, I paid close attention to my symptoms, and I noticed that I was constantly thirsty yet constantly had to pee. An Army physician sent me to a local hospital (we both suspected diabetes), and when they tested my blood sugar it was an alarming 837. They had no insulin at the African hospital, and it took five long days for the military to medevac me to Germany. In Germany I met with an endocrinologist and diabetes educator and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. While my blood sugar was so high, luckily it had not been that way for very long, so there was no long-term eye or nerve damage from uncontrolled levels.

While still in Germany, I had my first hypoglycemic incident. I was walking around the mall, and suddenly my vision started to go black. I recognized the symptoms and shoved some of the candy I had taken to carrying into my mouth and sat down. I was close to passing out. It was a bit of a reality check. Before being diagnosed, I held a UCI pro license in mountain biking and enjoyed Cyclocross racing in the fall; and though I was still confident I could live a normal life with this disease, if I couldn’t even walk around a mall, how was I going to be able to ride my bike for two hours? With my medical training I knew what diabetes was and that it was unlikely that the military would not let me serve as a type 1 diabetic. After 18 plus years of active duty that was hard to hear. So I gave myself about a 15-minute “pity party” and then decided I was going to own this disease, life would go on, and I would figure out how to manage it and still do the things I love. When I was first diagnosed, one of the things that probably helped save my life was the fact that I enjoyed cycling and exercising. I knew that exercise could be a tool to help control my blood sugar, but in Africa, I didn’t have my bike– so I ran everyday I could. I went running after being on insulin for about 48 hours. Now that my blood sugar was going down, I started to feel better, so I went for a jog. I monitored my blood sugar before, during, and after the run. I watched my numbers and kept meticulous notes of what I was eating, how many carbs and when I worked out. I went though a lot of test strips– sometimes I tested as much as 20 times a day. I knew I had a battle on my hands: I was not going to let this disease write my narrative– and that included my job. Eventually, the Army sent me back to the U.S. and close enough to home that I was able to get my road bike and begin cycling again. I follow the sport, and I had heard of Team Type 1, so I went out and bought a copy of Phil Southerland’s book “Not Dead Yet”. Team Type 1 gave me hope that I could continue my racing, and I was interested in hearing stories from other diabetic athletes and how they manage the disease while working out. I started riding and testing. I wanted to see what happened 10 minutes into a ride, 30 minutes, an hour into a ride, and so on. I ended up using a lot more strips. I also started paying a lot more attention to nutrition, and I gained back the weight I had lost. But my new attention to diet also meant I was leaner than before. And about three months after my diagnosis, I decided to start racing again. I really loved racing and missed seeing my friends in the local mountain biking community. I was also determined to prove to myself that this disease would not dictate my life. My first race was in a local mountain bike series. After having been deployed, I was not in peak racing shape, but I needed to see where I was at both fitness-wise and with my diabetes. It was a 2-hour race, and with about ten minutes left I started feeling bad. I decided to pull over and test– I was in the 50s. I ate a gel and got back on my bike and slowly pedaled my way to the finish line. People I had never lost to before had beaten me, but in the end, I gained something far more valuable: I knew I could race. I knew I could figure this out. I knew this disease was going to be a part of my life, but not rule my life. I kept cycling and monitoring, and I fought to keep my job in the military. I tried to keep tight control over my blood sugar, and I was rewarded for my efforts when my 6 month A1C came back as 6.0. In a little over six months, I had been able to get my blood sugar down from an A1C of 14.7 to 6.0. Today, after a long fight, I am back to full duty with the military and serve as a Battalion Executive Officer. I am also back to racing and winning, and in January 2012, I joined the Team Type 1 Elite squad. I realize that the insight this disease has given me about my body and proper nutrition has actually made me stronger. I am a faster cyclist than I was before diagnosis, and I am proud to be a member of Team Type 1. Now I have the opportunity to be a part of something that can help inspire others and show that this disease won’t stop you. And as I meet more and more type 1 diabetics, I am constantly inspired by their stories, and I continue to race, train and test– as well live the life I want to lead.

After this weekend I have decided to never plan anything. Yesterday I planned on sleeping in, today I decided to go for a calm bike ride, neither happened. I'm a very competitive person, so much so that when I see a person on any kind of bike ahead of me I have to pass them. I can't get on my bike and ride at a leisurely pace. Today I decided to go for a twenty mile loop near the ocean to practice riding against the wind. About seven miles in I see a group of three to four riders in front of me. I decide to pick it up a bit and see if I can catch them. I eventually pass them and give them a hello as I do, as get down near the ocean I start passing a few more riders. I think to myself it must be some kind of fundraiser, each person that I have passed hasn't had a number though. I continue down the road that abuts the ocean for a couple miles and pass a couple more riders, finally I said to myself your riding really well why not just push till the end of the road and then cruise the rest of the ride. I didn't want to get caught by anyone I passed so I tucked and was cruising at a good clip when I started to see a group of people about a quarter of a mile ahead. At this point I see clocks and cops, I quickly tuck again and don't want to be seen by anyone. As I approach the crowd people are cheering and cameras are flashing. As I blew by I hear some laughter and decide to just keep going. My usual route was the route of a sprint triathlon this morning. All of the riders had their numbers on their stomachs which explains why I didn't see them.

As I continued my ride I was being passed by a lot of bike riders going in the other direction and all I could think to myself was the scene in Planes Trains and Automobiles that is below. I had an enjoyable ride and rode at a very good pace but I feel like a complete idiot. I don't know what is wrong with me but I am not normal. The only thing that was normal today was my blood sugars. Time to enjoy the Broncos game and see how the game affects my blood sugar.

After writing last night I fell asleep around 8:15, my body was fried. Around midnight I woke up and felt I bit off, I headed downstairs to test and saw that I was 122. I had some water and a couple fig newtons, I also took two units to cover the snack. I felt good and went back to bed, I awoke again around 3am and was sore and felt like garbage. I felt high and when I tested I was at 398!! I quickly gave myself six units, as time went by I couldn't feel the insulin going in to my body. I don't always feel the insulin going in but if I want to make sure it is going in I can concentrate and feel it going in. I felt nothing, I checked my site and saw that it had completely come out of my body. I quickly panicked, I grab a syringe and gave myself ten units, I wasn't sure how long I was without insulin so the ten units would safely cover everything. I then changed the site and headed back to bed. Should I have stayed up and tested every hour or so to make sure I was alright? Probably, but after 22 years you learn to trust your judgement. I'm not saying that it is right but for me I know my body and had total trust in what I had just done.

I awoke around 6:30am (so much for sleeping past 7) when I tested I was very happy to see that I was 72. I felt like I won, I made the right calls and fixed a problem that could have been a lot worse. I quickly gave myself three units and setup a temp basal so I could get on the bike by 8am. My bike ride went great, for the first time in almost year I was angry while I rode. I did a couple climbs and while going up hill I saw the small scar on the inside of my right arm, I laughed and then got mad. That scar reminds me of the doctor that believed I would never do anything and that I shouldn't be alive. That anger pushed me up that hill, I need that anger now and then in my life. I'm still determined to win a bike race and walk in to that doctors office with a medal or trophy and say "I didn't know dead guys could win bike races" Smile throw down a sheet with my A1C history and leave the office. A bit extreme? Yes but I need that mindset to succeed. I arrived home with a blood sugar of 132, everything was back to normal. I could enjoy the rest of my day.